The Bunnicula Collection: Books 1-3: #1: Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery; #2: Howliday Inn; #3: The Celery Stalks at Midnight Decide Now

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Long before we took a stab at this series last summer, I'd heard about Bunnicula. Unfortunately, I'd foolishly discounted the books about a bunny that looked like Dracula as unappealing. Finally, desperate for in-the-car summer entertainment for elementary-school-aged bookworms, I picked up The Bunnicula Collection, a Book on CD version containing the first three titles in the series and gave them a try. They turned out to be a smashing success.

The first book, Bunnicula A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery goes something like this: Chester the cat and Howard the dog are shocked to learn what their family, the Monroes, takes home one night from the theater: a bunny that looks suspiciously like a vampire. Although the human family members quickly acclimate to the presence of the new pet, Chester and Howard, after noticing carrots, lettuce and tomatoes gone white, feel something fishy is going on and set out to solve the mystery. Howliday Inn, the second story, takes place at the kennel where the three pets are left for boarding during a family holiday. The third, The Celery Stalks at Midnight concerns strange behavior on the part of the Monroe boys and the silly antics of an additional character.

Bunnicula, recommended for age seven and up, is a humorous, captivating series about the interactions between three well-thought-out, sometimes suspicious, furry characters and their humans. At the end of the CD, author James Howe explains its origins, and gives credit his coauthor and wife, Deborah, who died before her time of cancer. The only disappointing thing about Bunnicula is the difficulty of obtaining successive books in the series read by Victor Garber, as other authors that have performed the stories aren't nearly as good. Having just finished reading The Celery Stalks at Midnight, the experience wasn't nearly as enjoyable as listening to Victor Garber's five-star reading performance. Note that two additional sets are available [...] books 4 & 5 and books 6 & 7. Only the price ($38 per set) has prevented me from picking them up. Also good: Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell and The Story of Edgar Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and, for adults, Watership Down by Richard Adams.Get more detail about The Bunnicula Collection: Books 1-3: #1: Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery; #2: Howliday Inn; #3: The Celery Stalks at Midnight.